sti-04!!

No SSU this isnt a thread about GB

I got gentle leaders for the dogs today as they pull like mad when out a walk & i had heard about them being better than the halti's.

**** me does my boxer hate his, it was like leading a wayward horse around a paddock earlier. The lab cross doesnt mind his although you can see it annoying him a little.

Does anyone else have them & if so do you have any tips ?
The trouble is that the dogs used to just get the run of the yard & could run about as & when they liked outside but i need to do a wee bit of walking (doctors orders) & rather than slogging it out & boring myself on the treadmill i would rather take them out.

TIA

Snazy

I use a Gencon with mine if the situation dictates lol (yes, badly trained)
Works a treat, but ultimatly no physical restraint will beat good training.

Of course it will irritate them, its in a sensitive area, more so for the boxer.

I would say spending some time getting them walking properly is key if you can.
How long have you been walking them on a lead out of interest.
I use the Gencon as a secondary lead.

Spoon

Sti, the best tip I could give would have been to walk them earlier had you envisaged doing this at some point. You've left the dogs to roam at their free will and now you want them to behave and walk nicely with you in strange surroundings. To boot you want them to do this with a face strap on tied to a lead.

As like any real training, time and repetition is your friend.

sti-04!!

The boxer i have at the moment is only 8 months old, my last one sadly was sent to doggie heaven at 2yrs old. The lab cross is 2 & a half but he's not the problem.
They both go on average before i decided to try this other route .... an hours walk 5 times a week, roughly 1/2 of that was let of the lead in a big park. They are both good with basic commands its just the pulling i need to sort & having to try & train 2 dogs at a time. I'll try the gentle leader with Bruno over the next week & see it goes from there.

CrisPDuk

My numptie mutt pulls like mad on a lead attached to a collar, but she's as good as gold if we put her harness on and attach the lead to that

Spoon

Plenty of stopping and starting then. Training the dog to walk with you will do nothing for your prescribed walk though. To do it properly you'll look a bit odd and won't get as far to start with as you'd hoped.

When he pulls calmly stop until he stops. ONLY say heel when he is actually at your side. (even if you've pulled him back). Never say heel and then pull him back. He'll think the heel command means pain or at least discomfort. By saying heel ONCE he's where you want him he'll quickly pick up that heel means just that. You could praise him and say "good heel" to reinforce you are pleased with him and give him a kibble. He'll also learn that you have a treat in your hand and will want to please quicker, hopefully.

If you are constantly having to pull him back at first then as I said, you won't get far but then training properly isn't a quick fix exercise. Do it right and he'll be walking on a loose lead soon enough.

Good luck.

What happened to the 2 year old?

SunnySideUp

My GSD is under full voice control - no leads are used on our walks ... I can drop her at any moment. We trained and trained when she was a pup.

It's a great pleasure having a dog under voice command control ... though I do appreciate some dogs are not quite 'suited' to this type of training.

Snazy

What happens if you lose your voice

SunnySideUp

She has been trained in sign language too

That's not as daft as it may sound .... the voice commands are also associated with hand signals.

Spoon

As mine are also but that isn't going to help Sti's situation now is it.

Yours is probably too old to keep up even with a lard arsé like yourself so you have no fear of her pulling.

sti-04!!

Thanks Spoon. I just want to try & get him right. I appriecate it'll take time but i have some spare
As for the 2yr old .. he had a tumor in his brain & they couldnt treat ... well they could but he'd just suffer So we decide to let him be at peace.

Spoon

Sorry to hear that, Sti. Losing a family pet is never good but 2 years of age is just way too soon.

Put the effort and time in with Bruno and you'll get results. I'm never keen on letting a dog loose though before it understands the basics of walking properly on a lead. It is one or the other at an early age.

Mine are loose in the garden though and are free to do what they wish until the leads come out for a change of scenery. They understand they need to take on a different role then.

Try wearing him out a bit before you go on a walk.

sti-04!!

Thanks mate, it was heartbreaking.

Ok thanks for the tips, i'll keep him on the leash until i think he's better with commands.

SunnySideUp

You're quite right, on both counts.

I feel for anyone who loses a family pet .... those who haven't had it happen will not quite understand, it's a real emotion.

My old girl is now 10 years old, and yes, some days even a fat lard **** like me can overtake her ........ I'm going to be devastated when she goes.

Snazy

lol na makes perfect sense, mine follow a few hand commands too. Was just pulling ya leg.


I have to echo that sentiment, mine are just at the beginning, but I miss them when I am away, let alone the day they go forever.

Sorry for your loss too Sti.

Oh and as for the advice, its not like you needed telling but as usual Spoon is spot on. Patience is key. And try hard not to get frustrated or worked up, they really can feed from that too, and just become a PITA.

Leslie

I expect they find them as irritating as you would when you think about it!
Can't be helped of course-you have to be able to control them.

PSL has done well if he can guarantee full control of his dog at all times. I know very well about the awful effects of losing a pet too.

Les

SunnySideUp

A test I have had with my GSD's is that if I can leave a plate of Steak in front of my dog ... and she/he does not touch it, unless I say they can, I have a trained dog who will obey my every command.

I have always been able to leave my dinner plate (full) on the floor in the lounge, leave the room for some reason, the dinner will not be touched .... no-one comes between me and my food

Spoon

Another Píssy classic. You have a dog that understands he/she isn't to eat your food. You don't have a trained dog that will obey your every command at all.

Snazy

lol I too have a dog that would not touch food it is not given.
Even when they have found their way into the kitchen with no one in it, other than the Sunday roast, the worst they have done is sat and looked at it..... drooling (errrgh lol)

However I dont for one second think thats anything much to do with training, and more to do with pecking order.

Pete, can yours do the biscuit on the nose trick too?
I can, mine are SO well trained!

Outside of that, I have one of the worst trained dogs on here. But as long as my food is safe.... hey

SunnySideUp

Pecking order is important in the dogs response to commands - it's all inter-related .... my GSD's have their own mind and their own will (they are the most intelligent of dogs after all) ...... but will respond to my commands (as I am Top Dog).

They will also respond to anothers commands, but only if issued with conviction. During Dog Training, about 30 years ago, but things won't have changed A bloke with a GSD could not get it to do anything, in fact it used to growl and even bite the owner!! I took the reins and, during a battle of wills, got that same dog responding to my commands and lead work (I wouldn't particularly trust it - but, being top dog meant that I could control the dog when the owner couldn't).

Hence pecking order and training are intertwinned ..... I've just realised how long I have been training GSD's!!

Spoon

What a complete load of generalised bollocks.

I must have you on my database of top trainers worldwide. Please don't hesitate to give my your details. I bet you've titled hundreds of dogs too eh?

SunnySideUp

Where did I say I was a Worldwide famous Top Trainer? Puzzled ...

I have been training my own GSD's, training never stops - nor should it for a breed such as a GSD ..... and I have helped others with their own GSD's. 30 odd years ago I was part of a Dog Training Club - we shared experiences and helped each other.

You do bestow upon me greatness and I thank you for that, it's nice to know that you assumed that I was some recognised worldwide great dog trainer ......

what would scooby do

I thought GSD's are hair straighteners ?

Spoon

Pete, you've probably been doing nothing more than conditioning your pet to be nice around the home. You come out with absolutely nothing to confirm you have any more of a clue on proper training than anybody else able to read t'internet.

You say training goes on and on. For what exactly do you train for to require constant reaffirmation? Simple day to day commands aren't forgotten so I'd be interested in your answer.

You could probably rank somewhere in the World's most prolific shíte spouters list.

Spoon

Used properly they can curl your hair.

what would scooby do

That's wrong but right for different reasons

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Training dogs is easy...until a women gets involved, then it all gets thrown out the sodding window :

"awww, just look at his cute face, don't be cruel, I'll cook him some liver later"

Yup, it was only until the poor thing had iron poisoning did my advice that too much meat was not a good nor healthy diet for a dog.

SunnySideUp

So? You don't believe I know anything about Dog Training - fair enough, doesn't really bother me to be honest.

I could, if I was dis-respectful, say that you know nothing either - because you have said nothing that couldn't be found on the internet - but, that's not what I would do; as I have given you the benefit of any doubt I may have.

When I say Training I mean doing things to challenge their mind, obstacle courses, re-affirmation of commands, new tests .... I don't have to train for anything in particular, bar the pleasure of working with the dog. I enjoy what I do with them ... you seem to think that the simple pleasure of training isn't enough justification for doing it. You are so wrong.

I tell it as I see it, if you think it's sh1te then fair enough ..... doesn't mean that it is - however serious you take yourself

Spoon

Teaching basic commands is simple enough. Real training is far from easy or you wouldn't have certain dog trainers commanding thousands to train a dog. Those very trainers wouldn't have a real premium on puppies out of their titled lines either or indeed a waiting list for said puppies.

Spoon

Correct.
You most certainly could though you'd need to be telling somebody remotely interested in your opinion.
The beginning of word meaning changes starts. It won't be long before you disappear for a bit. Your dog is 8 years old. What are you doing new? You assume I don't think the simple pleasure of training isn't enough justification for doing it? No, I do it daily and never said anything remotely similar. In fact I've just run through a routine with my dogs.
From my perspective, Pete. You talk utter shíte about this subject. Even if I was wearing a clown outfit it'd still be utter shíte.